PORT TOWNSEND — One of two Jefferson County races that were too close to call after the initial tally of general election ballots Tuesday has been decided after a second count, while in another, the margin is only seven votes.
In the Jefferson Healthcare commission Position 2 race, incumbent Marc Mauney was unseated by challenger Matt Ready, who had accumulated 5,301 votes, or 51.97 percent, to 4,899 votes, or 48.03 percent, after the second count Friday.
Pamela Adams led Harold Sherwood 1,849 to 1,842, or 50.09 percent to 49.91 percent, for the open Position 5 Port Townsend City Council seat after the second count.
“Before this, I knew that every vote counted,” Adams said. “Now I know that is especially true.”
Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge said the outcome of the hospital board race will not change in remaining vote tallies.
Approximately 644 votes countywide are still left to be counted, many of which need to be recopied and fed into the machine because of illegibility.
Another count is expected to take place this coming Friday, Eldridge said.
With 100 percent of the eligible votes tallied, the total was 13,990 ballots returned of the 22,772 mailed to registered voters, for a voter turnout of 61.44 percent.
Voter turnout in Clallam County was 53.32 percent, according to County Auditor Patty Rosand, after 24,884 ballots out of a possible 46,668 had been returned.
Both Adams and Sherwood have filed requests for the names of the 224 Port Townsend voters with illegible ballots.
“That way, you can look at the list and see if your son or anyone you know is there and you can ask them to come in here and clarify their vote,” Adams said, “although it depends how well you get along with your son.”
Sherwood said he expects to “comb the list [of illegible ballots] for all likely supporters and contact them next week.”
Who a person voted for is secret; the fact that a person voted is public record. Phoning people to urge them to make their vote count is legal, the Washington Secretary of State’s Office has said.
Adams said she was confident she would win in her second attempt at a City Council seat.
She withdrew from her first attempt two years ago after learning she did not meet residency requirements.
The seat is being vacated by Mark Welch.
Adams was running in an informal slate along with incumbents Michelle Sandoval and Catharine Robinson, both of whom easily won re-election over Bob Jautz and Patrick Moore.
Sherwood, a veterinarian, was united with Moore and Jautz in his criticism of city finances.
The threshold for an automatic recount is a margin of 0.50 percent or less, according to state law.
If the candidates tie, then the winner will be chosen with the flip of a coin, Eldridge said.
Candidates can still request a recount if the race doesn’t meet that requirement if they pay a fee for each ballot to cover the cost.
Adams indicated she may request a recount, while Sherwood said he would not.
“If the final count does not fall within the state mandate, it is highly unlikely to change,” he said.
A similarly close race took place in 2011 between Jack Range and Deborah Stinson, who led by 20 votes, which was not within the recount range.
In the hospital commissioner’s race, Ready led Mauney by 202 votes; with the second count, the margin increased to 402.
Ready, a process improvement specialist at Jefferson Healthcare, will be required to quit his job before joining the board.
As of Friday, he had not given notice, nor had he determined how he will earn a living once he leaves his job.
He said his first priority was to clarify the communication structure between the board and the hospital.
“In my current job, I have access to a lot of data that may not reach the commissioners,” he said.
“I would like to keep these channels open.”
Mauney did not return a call for comment Friday.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
